Torn
by Noonie
Summary: A vampire hunter comes to Mystic Falls with a story, a lesson, and maybe some love for a certain blue eyed monster.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - It's been a long time folks and I need to apologize to any of you that have been reading or gotten into my other stories. I will be taking them down soon since my other computer completely crashed and I haven't a mind to get back into writing them.**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from The Vampire Diaries. I make no profit from these writings. I only play. Also I do own Jo (Johanna), she's my OC.

Chapter 01

Mistakes Can Lead to Compassion

Jo stood toe to toe with the angry glare from ice blue eyes. The curl of the man's lips was menacing. Not only was he mad but he was raging. The muscles of his shoulders rippled as he tried to hold the white heat inside.

The meadow grass whipped in the wind from the on coming storm although Jo was more focused on the storm that may come from her mistake.

Lying on the ground was a headless corpse. His green eyes were staring straight forward from a head haphazardly kicked to the side after she cut it clean with a machete.

Dark hair blurred as she found her self pinned to a tree in the middle of the meadow. It was so fast; she didn't have time to react before she was slammed harder into the digging bark. The tree was unforgiving and tore a piece of her scalp and pulled on her long black locks.

A small river of blood began to pour from the wound down the side of her neck onto her black tank top.

She has stalked this vampire for days, the one that was now truly dead, and he never had another with him. Her mistake was snarling in her face, ready to kill her.

Jo was caught off guard, but only once. She assessed the situation and as the vampire seemed ready to kill her, she hit him in his solar plexus, sending him flying backwards far enough for her to grab her other weapons and stand ready for his advance.

She was meant to do this work. All her training by a master hunter was firmly etched into her mind, her quick reflexes and above average strength was her advantage. God commanded this of her, tore her soul from hell for this, and this blue eyed monster was not going to stop her from ridding the world of evil.

The glint of her sharp katana sparkled in the fleeting sun. She never let her intense gaze waver from this threat. She was poised to take his head off when he blurred towards her. It was just seconds away, the cool breeze on the back of her neck, a stray piece of hair twisted; pure rage boiled over on the vampire's face…

"Oh my God, Stefan?" A girl screamed.

She started to cry and wail even as she saw Jo positioned low waiting the onslaught of the other vampire. The other vampire's posture changed instantly. He softened but just enough to almost comfort the girl from afar but not enough to let his guard down.

"Elena, get out of here." He ordered the girl; human Jo's mind told her by the human way she walked, ran, and then stood next to Damon.

"Why?" Tears fell down the girl's cheeks as she stood, fearless of the real threat Jo can be, and stared Jo down.

Jo didn't have an answer. She never had to answer why to anyone who cared. Who really cared about a vampire?

"Fuck why." The blue eyed vampire said. "Go back there, wait for me, I need to kill this bitch."

"Yes please, come kill me, or try to." Jo plastered an evil wanting grin on her face. "I'll kill you just the same as that one." She said motioning over to the decapitated body.

"No please don't, no more killing." Elena said, panic was evident in her voice and so was that hidden tone. Jo knew what that small shriek in the back of that girl's throat meant.

"Catch her." She offered clearly unclear on why she was offering her assistance, but as soon as the words left her mouth Elena teetered on her feet and fainted.

The blue eyed monster caught her and sighed. Obviously he was skilled at catching this one.

"This doesn't forgive what you did." He stated looking at Jo then to Elena.

"Go take her, I'll give final rites to the body, bury it. Consider this your mercy vampire. I'll come calling another time." Jo nodded her head.

The blue eyed monster nodded as well and was off in a blur.

_**Please let me know if this is worth continuing. I would like to add more but I feel better with some encouragement.**_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters used from The Vampire Diaries. I borrowed them for this fic for fun, no money is made from this. Jo (Johanna) is my OC.

Explanations and Transgressions

Jo took a long hot shower at the unfinished house she was squatting at. She washed away the dirt, blood, and grime from her recent kill but no matter how hot or how long she stood in the water she couldn't wash away the guilt that crept up on her.

It wasn't normal to feel anything but joy after a job well done. She excused the feeling as humanity for the tears that human girl shed. She's never had to deal with anyone after she's done her job. No cared to congratulate her or berate her. It was her penance and her blessing from a higher power.

"We didn't rescue from perdition for nothing." The angel said to her all those years ago.

Jo dressed in tight black skinny jeans, black boots, and black tank top. Her hair was put into a ponytail and she put on a red bandana. All she wanted to do was get in a good read of her few books and eat some dinner. Plans had to change when she realized she was out of stolen food. Killing vampires was not a paid job.

She found her identification and a credit card that matched that name and decided to go out.

The Mystic Grille was crowded tonight as she stepped inside. A cute boy with blue eyes and curly dirty blonde short hair grabbed a menu and led her to the only booth available.

"My name is Matt and I'll be your server tonight. What should I start you with?" He smiled.

"Beers please and keep them coming. Oh and I love burgers so the best you got here would be great, with French fries and lots of ketchup." Jo smiled.

He returned with her beer and sat across from her. "Yes?"

"I'm not sure who you are, or what you are doing in this town but I feel the need to tell you that," he pointed in the direction of the bar, "Damon over there has taken interest in you. He's trouble. Just don't invite him to your home; you seem like a nice girl." Matt said before he stood up.

"Thank you Matt." Jo smiled.

This wasn't a new occurrence. If there was anyone with a good heart that she's talked to, they seemed compelled to warn her about vampires. It was a gift the Angel said she would be given, since the entire world wasn't bad.

Good thing, Jo thought to her self, I don't go anywhere without a weapon. Her favorite knife was in her boot. It was specially blessed to kill evil. It saved her from plenty of close calls so she wasn't entirely worried about Damon. It was just how crowded this place was, who knew what a vampire would do to the regular humans.

That human girl that cried over the green eyed vampire came up to her. Jo offered her a seat across from her.

"Look, I don't want to be your friend. I don't think I can forgive you for killing my…friend." She said looking down at her intertwined fingers that fidgeted on the table.

"He was more than a friend." Jo said matter-of-factly.

"At one time he was." She said with a short reply.

"I don't understand how you can love one of them. I know I don't care to know. I did what I did. I suppose if your other vampire can behave himself I won't have to kill him. I don't know if he's worth the mercy I'm giving him, and if he proves otherwise I will kill him." Jo said digging into the burger and fries Matt brought over to her.

The human, Elena, sat there for a few moments pondering what Jo said. "Why do you do it? Why kill vampires?" She whispered that last part low into the table.

"It's my job." Jo smiled then put a ketchup loaded fry into her mouth.

She wasn't so engrossed in the small talk and few questions Elena asked her to not notice Damon stalking in her direction.

"You might want to inform your vampire to be nice while he takes his time coming up to the table, Elena." Jo said sternly and with a bit of intense warning in the tone.

"Damon isn't my vampire." Elena said puzzled why this lady would call him that.

Jo turned to the new direction Damon was standing in. In was further to the right than he was a second ago and said so Damon wouldn't mistake what she said, "Any undead being that is friends with a human is owned by that human. He might not know it, but I'm sure he'd do anything to keep you human since he hasn't changed you. You wear his mark; therefore are important. This is how I've concluded this."

Elena sat back, "His mark?"

"Only someone who is a supernatural being can see it. It's where he has bitten you. It glows." Jo said and munched down the rest of her fries.

Damon was in the booth within the time it takes Jo to swallow her mouthful of fries and has taken a long pull on her beer.

"That means you are something supernatural then, doesn't it?" He said. "You have to be, you are strong and agile. You can sense me and you saw the mark."

"I suppose I am." Jo smiled and leaned her head back to finish the beer.

Damon contemplated scaring her while she took down the rest of her drink. Elena saw the hint of mischief in Damon's gaze and before she could tell Damon to back off he was sitting next to this woman his hand gripping her throat.

Jo finished her swallow and put her head level with Elena's gaze. "Call him off." She said.

"I can make my own decisions and Elena isn't going to tell me what to do." Damon said as he applied more pressure.

Elena stared daggers at Damon, "She said she would spare you if you behaved. I don't call this behaving Damon."

Damon's gaze on Elena was the split second of time Jo needed to get her knife and slip the blade an inch into the side of Damon. He flinched and let go of her neck.

"Why does that burn?" He asked putting his hand on Jo's shoulder with full intention to push her off.

"Not your problem at the moment Damon; but if you do that again, it will be in your heart." Jo angled the blade and emphasized that the angle was just a few inches from the under part of his heart.

Damon held up his hands in surrender and Jo pulled the blade out. "What are you?" He asked.

Jo paid her tab and went out into the night and breathed deeply the night air. Elena was by her side secretly admiring her self confidence and her skills, while Damon was on the other side still bothering her about what she was.

"Oh come on, you know what I am." He prodded.

"Yes a bloodsucking killer with an ego the size of Texas." Jo said as she continued her stroll down the sidewalk. "Must be young." She added and Elena giggled.

"Not as young as you." Damon quipped.

"As far as you can tell." Jo said back.

"So this is the first vampire you've spared?" Elena asked trying not to think of Stefan while she walked.

"Actually yes." Jo shrugged.

"Since I'm special you've just got to tell me what you are." Damon winked and then waggled his intense eyebrows.

Jo sighed, "Special…as in special education and that's not enough to get you the prize."

Elena straight up laughed this time. "Oh this is so good," she smiled, "no one really talks like this to Damon. They are too afraid to."

Jo smiled but was lost in thought.

"Have you ever been afraid of a vampire?" Damon asked Jo when he saw her drift off.

"Truthfully I have been. It was a long time ago, and he was fairly old at the time. He got away and I never made that mistake again." Jo said her tone quieter than usual.

Damon left her alone for a second. He could tell something was up with her. That second cost him as he sighed watching vampire Barbie come up to Elena.

"You keep strange company." Jo said eyeing the female vampire. She was definitely young. Her human essence wasn't completely gone.

The perky blonde gave Elena a long, hard hug. "We'll find who killed Stefan and make them pay."

Damon cleared his throat and tried to get Caroline to be quiet. She wasn't very good at taking hints.

"What you miss your maker?" Jo mumbled but the blonde heard her.

"No Damon's that, but Stefan was a good mentor and friend. Hey who the hell are you?" The blonde stopped in her tracks causing the group to stop walking. Jo did not stop and continued on.

"I said who are you?" Caroline yelled, some of her veins starting to show.

Jo turned around but continued to walk backwards. "I don't have time to explain all of this again. Talk to your maker." She said snidely.

Jo back around and ran into what felt like a wall. The hairs on the back of her neck rose instantly. She could feel what this one was before she got a look at him. She could smell his decay. Her eyes saw dark boots, jeans, and followed them up to a grey polo shirt, white neck where the buttons were loosened, strong chin with red stubble, bridge of a nose and blue grey eyes. Niklaus. Shit.

_**This is not beta'ed, all mistakes are my own. Also I had hinted that I needed encouragement to post. I'm of the mind now that is not necessary. I will post regardless of reviews.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Thanks to all who have reviewed, added this story to their alerts, or favorited me as an author. I really wasn't expecting it.**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters used from The Vampire Diaries. Jo (Johanna) is my OC.

Humanity

Klaus was following Caroline trying to insist to her he'd find Stefan's killer. It wasn't just because Stefan was his friend of sorts or that he fancied Caroline, this killer was skilled, efficient and he wasn't about to keep at his business with a hunter in the area.

Caroline seemed distressed when she approached Damon, Elena, and this new girl with her back to him. She nearly walked into him but stopped abruptly and gave him the look over.

Klaus appreciated the scrutiny until he laid his eyes on the girl. This was no girl. "Johanna?"

"It's Jo now." Jo said trying to sound tough, failing miserably.

Damon heard the waver in her voice and was instantly by her side. He didn't care about her, he told himself, it was Klaus recognizing her that made him mad and curious all wrapped into one. No one else was going to have Klaus's claws in them in this town if Damon had anything to say about it.

Jo felt claustrophobic with both vampires by her. She pushed back. Only thing that could be done at this time was vanish. She wasn't prepared. The sweat of her brow trickled down the side of her face. How could Niklaus be here of all places?

Jo started looking for a route to escape. Elena recognized that look on Jo's face when she turned around to face her. Jo was panicking. This spurred Elena into action.

"Come on Jo, let's go to my place." Elena held out her hand.

Elena was surprised when Jo took it and Elena shot a look at Damon who blocked Klaus's path.

"You can't keep me from her." Klaus said in a dirty low tone to Damon.

Caroline stepped back up to Klaus. "Yeah, blah blah blah, heard it before." Caroline was confused as to why she was defending this unknown gal, Jo, they said her name was.

"Don't tell me she has both of you under her spell?" Klaus laughed. "Typical. For now I'll back off." He held his hands up in surrender as he blurred away.

Damon and Caroline looked at each other. Spell?

Elena didn't bring up how scared she saw Jo get to her. This tough outside was there for a reason and bringing up a vulnerable moment probably wasn't going to help matters.

Jo didn't respond to outside stimuli. She was frozen on the inside. The one vampire that got away from her, nearly costing her life, was here in this dinky little town. Jo was thankful Elena didn't push her for information.

Here was this fragile human female who was in a relationship or friendship or whatever with a vampire she killed, practically in front of her holding her hand out in friendship to Jo. She either really cared or was really naïve. She had Damon wrapped around her little finger; another love blossoming, and yet she put all of this to the side to give Jo a hand. If her Angel showed up and said God works in mysterious ways she'd have to agree with him for once.

They approached a nice home with a porch swing and went inside. Jo sat automatically when they entered Elena's bedroom. She folded her slender fingers in her lap and kept her head down. It was time to focus and become better prepared and yet she couldn't pull herself out of this stupor.

Elena gave her a side hug and smiled, "I'll go downstairs and make us some tea. You just sit here as long as you need."

Jo nodded and Elena left the room.

Damon and Caroline sped to Elena's house. Now was a time for answers. When they arrived Elena was in the kitchen brewing some tea. Caroline had taken the liberty to call Bonnie who also was on her way to Elena's house. Klaus mentioned magic so who better to have come check this Jo out than Mystic Falls resident witch.

"Where is Jo?" Damon asked Elena as she poured the hot water into the cup.

"Upstairs in my room." She said.

"I need to talk to her." Damon said as he started to head out of the kitchen.

"Be nice Damon, she was really scared back there. She doesn't show it but I know it." Elena instructed.

Damon nodded and went to Elena's room.

Jo felt Damon before he opened the door. "You have questions." She said before he had fully opened the door.

"I do." Damon said and sat on Elena's bed. Jo had risen from the bed and gone to sit in the window sill.

"I don't know if I have the answers." Jo spoke low.

"Klaus said that Caroline and I were under your spell. What does he mean?" Damon asked skipping past any of the easy questions.

"Never thought it was possible, you know, for that to happen to vampires." Jo shrugged and looked out the window to the sunset.

Her long black hair had mini rainbows of light in it. Damon just noticed. He also noticed her pale skin, her bright blue eyes, she was beautiful. She looked lost.

"What are you talking about?" Damon asked as he stood and came closer to her. All of his instincts about being weary of magic seemed unafraid of her. It was like he needed to be closer, to smell her, hold her, and protect her.

"It's doing it again," she smiled slightly and turned to face him, "it's compelling your heart to help me which means you must still have humanity inside of you." She reached out and brushed a curl of his hair from his forehead as he knelt beside her.

Caroline coughed, breaking Damon from his spell causing him to stand abruptly. Jo went back to looking outside the window as the sun finally set. Bonnie stepped inside passed Caroline and approached Jo slowly.

Jo turned when she felt the magical presence in the room. "Please don't touch me." Jo said.

"Why?" Bonnie looked confused. "If you don't have anything to hide I'd let me touch you."

"I have plenty to hide Priestess." Jo stood seemingly ready to attack if necessary. Damon saw the sudden change in her demeanor.

"Priestess? I'm a witch." Bonnie explained.

Jo darted to the far side of the room away from Bonnie but closer to Damon. "No, witches sell their souls to gain magic, yours is pure and natural. You are Druid." She said as if everyone in the room would agree with her.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters used from The Vampire Diaries. Jo (Johanna) is my OC.

Nature

Damon didn't want Bonnie to bother Jo, he ushered out the crowd. Bonnie gave him a dark look while Caroline just huffed as she went downstairs. Damon heard Bonnie whisper to Caroline that he better know what he's doing falling for another pretty face. He wasn't falling for her. It was that spell, that energy force around her that was controlling him and yet he still needed to know more but with Jo sitting down. She seemed Angelic when she sat there looking down on his face. Her touch was gentle unlike when he first met her in that meadow.

"Can you tell me more?" Damon asked almost reverently at her feet while he got her to sit by the window again.

"I sinned a long time ago, took the life of innocent after innocent in fun. My days ended abruptly before I had time to do enough good and I was sent to hell." Jo explained. "Hell was just that, hell. I care not to remember those years although they are firmly etched into my memory for eternity."

Damon nodded and wished for her to go on. He could see pain in her eyes for a few more moments before she took a deep breath and spoke again.

"I was saved from hell and given a job to rid the world of vampires." Jo smiled. "I was taught how, given the tools of the trade, and something special; it's the power than compels people of pure heart to aide me in my job."

"Klaus recognized you." Damon said.

"That he did; I'm immortal but no more talk of him. Damon I'm confused, lost even, how is it that you have humanity?" The brows of her face creased as she asked this.

"It wasn't easy, Jo. I turned off all my emotions and killed. Elena opened up my heart."

"So when I said she owns you I was correct?" Jo smiled and reached out to cup his face in her hands.

"In a way maybe she does. I owe her a lot." Damon said blinking his eyes away and down from Jo.

"But?" Jo questioned bringing Damon's eyes back to her.

"Even with Stefan dead I can't bring myself to go there with her. I'm afraid." Damon answered honestly and it was almost too honest for him.

"That makes two of us." Jo said as she slipped off the sill and knelt down to face Damon at his level.

"Even as I can sense your goodness although as clouded as it can be with the vampire demon in the way I'm reminded of my loyalty to those who pulled me from hell and gave me a purpose. To feel that all I've done isn't the only way; to doubt even I'm afraid." She said in a mere whisper her lips a breath away from Damon's. "It's in your very nature to draw me in and want you as it is mine to fault you for it."

Damon heard the smallest skip of her heartbeat before it started to soar. The beats sang to him as much as the smell of her beneath her thin skin. The demon was very close to the surface.

Jo tingled. She could feel the danger of this situation grow and yet she couldn't pull herself away. The coolness of his skin beneath her fingertips was welcoming. The crisp clarity of his blue eyes entranced even though she knew it was voluntary.

Jo noticed the small outlines of black beneath his eyes as his blue clouded with red. She didn't move suddenly as not to provoke an attack as she watched Damon struggle with his need for her. Her thumb stroked over his pale pink lips urging them upward and away from his protruding fangs.

"Honestly I have never been this close to one of you this way. You are beautiful." Jo said as her eyes misted with hints of tears.

* * *

Elena looked to Bonnie, "Do you think she's a danger to us?"

Bonnie shook her head, "I don't know."

"Klaus knew her; I'm not sure what that means for us." Caroline said.

"I don't think her knowing Klaus is bad for us. She was truly frightened of him Care, I just wish I knew what was going on with Damon." Elena said looking up the stairs.

"She didn't feel wrong, I could feel something though. If I could have held her hand I would know more. The fact that she refused has me bothered. We don't know that much about her." Bonnie added.

Elena looked up the stairs and huffed. She wasn't going to let this unknown woman, who killed Stefan, do something to Damon. Her friends looked at her like she was crazy but she said "I've got this, just stay down here."

Jo wanted to kiss Damon. His eyes looked as if he had completely surrendered to her. She just didn't know if she could surrender to him. She would have to trust him and that was completely unheard of.

Damon bit back a moan when he saw her desire for him writ across her features. He called the vampire back and let her look deeply in his blue eyes again.

"What the hell is going on here?" Elena said.

Damon broke off his trance with a crooked grin on his face. "Nothing." He toyed looking up at Elena who stood with her arms crossed.

"Didn't look like nothing. I didn't bring you here to make out with Damon in my bedroom while all of us are downstairs trying to figure out what to do." Elena was upset.

Jo came up to Elena standing tall looking harshly into her face. "We weren't making out. Besides you don't get to talk to me that way." Jo was stricken by the heat behind her words. Still this human who has compassion beyond measure seems to have mood swings and the rollercoaster ride is something Jo isn't going to let her self ride on.

Damon stood holding his hands out in mock surrender. He was upset that Elena ruined the moment, but he wasn't about to have Jo spill blood. "Elena thanks for interrupting by the way. Let's all just skip downstairs and figure this out." Damon quipped while making quotation fingers around figure.

"I'd rather not play this game." Jo ducked passed them all and headed down the stairs. "Thank you for the time away to think Elena but I can't stay."

Caroline blocked her path suddenly not letting her out of her sight. "Call her off." Jo said in the same tone she had used earlier to tell Elena to get Damon off her.


End file.
